This invention relates in general to dry cleaning apparatus and more specifically to devices for separating the cleaning agent from the exhaust air of dry cleaning machines.
The cycle of operation of dry cleaning machines includes loading, cleaning, drying, ventillating and unloading processes. Since the air exhausted from the machine during cleaning contains a high concentration of cleaning agent vapors, it is necessary to remove these vapors from the exhaust air before they are released to atmosphere.
German Auslegeschrift No. 2,011,300 discloses a device which effectively cleanses the exhaust by placing the outlet end of the exhaust air line in a cooled water purifier. The outlet end of the exhaust line is immersed in the water to force the exhaust gases through the cooled liquid thereby condensing the cleaning fluid vapors. An outlet line is connected to the purifier at a point above the water level and directs the exhaust gases through an end filter to atmosphere. Typically the dry cleaning machine has an exhauster which develops an over pressure in the air exhaust line to force the exhaust gases through the water purifier. The outlet line may also include an exhauster to draw the exhaust gases from the purifier and through the end filter.
While such separation devices effectively remove the cleaning agent vapors from the exhaust line, the throttling of the air exhaust line, or back pressure, developed in the line as a result of the water purifier creates various disadvantages during the opening and ventillating of the cleaning machine. For example, after the laundering is complete, and the loading door of the cleaning machine is opened, the exhaust air will pass into the room in which the machine is installed because of the over pressure condition prevailing in the interior of the cleaning machine. Further, during the ventillation process following the cleaning process, relatively high pressures must be maintained to force the exhaust air stream ventillating the laundry through the water purifier. Finally, because of these pressure problems, it is not feasible to connect the exhaust air lines of several cleaning machines to a common water purifier. Since the ventillation processes of each machine typically occur at different times, the relatively high pressure conditions attendant the ventillation of one machine will have an adverse effect on the pressure conditions in the exhaust air lines of other cleaning machines engaged in the cleaning process.
It is therefore a principal object of the invention to provide an improved cleaning agent separation device to eliminate the throttling of the air exhaust line by the water purifier during the ventillation process.
It is a further object of this invention to eliminate the internal over pressure in the cleaning machine shortly before opening the loading door to avoid forcing cleaning agent vapors into the room.
Yet another object of the invention is to provide a cleaning agent separation device that allows the air exhaust lines of several cleaning machines to be connected to a common water purifier without adversely affecting the operation of certain of those machines during their cleaning cycles due to pressure conditions occuring in exhaust air lines of other cleaning machines during their operating cycles.